Born in 1981, Kim Hak belongs to the first generation of Cambodians born after the Pol Pot regime. He wanted to know about what happened to his family. He discovered that most of his family photographs had been destroyed, because they could have been used as proof of the family’s social background. Today, Kim Hak has only one photo of his mother, which was taken in the 1960s. This photograph, like others, was wrapped in plastic and buried in the ground. This also happened to other objects, like jewelry, a piece of fabric that was considered precious for sentimental reasons, and a little Buddha. Kim Hak makes these objects speak, and tell their stories about the past. A pair of scissors that used to belong to a hairdresser reminds us that women had to wear their hair very short. There’s also a gold bracelet that was sown inside clothes, which may have later been exchanged for a little bit of rice. The idea behind the project was to bring together 40 historical objects for the 40-year anniversary of the fall of Phnom Penh. 23 images have already been made.
FESTIVAL
Photo Phnom Penh 2015
From January 31th to February 28th, 2015
Institut français du Cambodge
218 rue 184 – Phnom Penh
Cambodia
+855 (0)23 213 124 / 125
[email protected]
www.institutfrancais-cambodge.com
